Woman charged in Sunday killing

By By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
Dec. 15, 2003
A Meridian woman was released from jail early today on a $10,000 bond after being charged with manslaughter in the Sunday death of a Meridian man.
Meridian police say that Ricky W. Graham, 48, fled his 918 47th Ave. home after being shot shortly after 4 p.m. during a domestic dispute, making him the ninth homicide victim this year in Meridian.
Meridian Police Detective Dean Harper said Graham had been shot in the stomach, collapsed in the street and died about an hour later at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.
Harper said that Graham's live-in girlfriend, Gracie Moss, 50, was charged with manslaughter in the case and bonded out of the Lauderdale County jail at 1:40 a.m. today.
Harper said Moss will face a March grand jury on manslaughter charges, which carry a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison. "Normally it's murder when it's deliberate or planned," Harper said. "If it's in the heat of passion, in this case a domestic dispute, it's usually a manslaughter charge."
Harper said Graham's body was sent to Pearl to the Mississippi Mortuary Service for an autopsy.
It was the second killing in two weeks that police attributed to a domestic dispute.